The road to Chattanooga started with qualifying via Ironman 70.3 Bahrain. This was not the perfect race by some way but one I will always look back on with great memories and an example of how to cope with the unpredictabilities of the sport of triathlon. After a good block of training and winning my age group at the Dubai International Triathlon (DIT) in November I felt in good form. This was tempered though by tweaking a calf muscle 13 days before the race running at Al Qudra. I really didn’t think I was going to make it but slavishly submitted to the regime prescribed by UP and Running physios. No running for 13 days was the only option.
The night before flying I started to pack my kit and realized that my new investment in the latest bike technology, in the quest for those extra seconds, would not fit in the bike bag I had recently bought. So I had to take my old bike which I hadn’t ridden for a few weeks. On arrival in Bahrain the power meter wouldn’t work and one of the bolts on the seat post sheared off due to overtightening. Frantic hours with Wolfi’s, ever patient and skilled, bike mechanics were not able to solve either problem. Wolfi’s conclusion was don’t ride fast over any speed bumps!! The result was a fourth place; despite tripping over a cats eye on the run and hitting the deck hard my calf held until the last three km of the run and I managed my second fasted 70.3 time of 5.06. There were three slots in my age group and with the first placed athlete deciding not to take up the slot it rolled down to fourth.
Fast forward 10 months. New coach and new approach. No power meters: race on feel: med, mod, mad and lots of it: big sessions.
Arrival in Chattanoonga on 6th September. Best thing to do is get your registration and race pack collection done early and avoid stresses. Accommodation needs to be functional, as close to the race start as possible and be set up to provide some breakfast on race day. The weather is good, warm but not too hot.
Did a bike and car reccy of the bike course. Less than 10 km into the bike leg is a tough 5 km hill climb which takes you out onto a plateau which as a few more inclines and some down-hill stretches. Rode some of the course to get a feel for the road and weather. A good practice is to drive all of it though to check out any difficult areas so as to avoid surprises on race day. The road surface is mixed. Some excellent smooth fast stretches intermixed with ruts/ pot holes and some less than even surfaces. Took it easy for a couple of days. Practised swimming at the designated swim practice times to get used to the temperature of the water, current feel etc. Looked out for sighting points. It’s a tough course, an up current swim (850M) of current into the sun, with a shorter down current return leg.
It turned out to be a wet suit legal swim but it was a marginal call so I was prepared for a non wet suit swim. Familiarised myself with the flow of transition.
Took it really easy for the two days before the race. Stuck to my coaches program of light easy work and plenty of rest. I remember two of my early coaches giving me some great advice when I first started taking sport seriously. The first bit of advice was to stay off your feet and much as possible especially on the day before the race and on race day whilst waiting for the race. Don’t go on any shopping trips or sit seeing visits in the 48 hours before the race!! The other strong piece of advice was to avoid the pasta party like the plague. You don’t see the pro’s attending these events and its just an unnecessary thing to do. So found a quiet restaurant and had a pre race bowl of pasta in peace and quiet. Do attend the race briefing! Its important to understand the drafting rules etc and what can/ or cannot be left on your bike in transition and what access you have to your equipment on race day.
Racked the bike the night before the race. All done; nothing more that can be dine apart from leaving it all out on the course after a good night’s sleep.
Race day arrives. Awake at 0500 and having toast and honey in the restaurant. The hotel breakfast is possibly the worst in the world so I have bought my own bread, honey, cereal and bananas. Down to transition, pump the tyres and make the last adjustments to the bike. Fortunately there is almost two hours before my wave start so time for a quick snoozey in the back of the van
0852 the time arrives and in we jump. It’s a rolling start so no mad thrashing punching and kicking. I have picked my route. Stay right and aim for the yellow sighting buoys taking care not to get pushed down river by the strong current. The water is warm so using my short sleeve wet suit to keep me cool. The current is tough and saps the energy. The end of the long back straight into the current cannot come soon enough and it is hard to sight into the sun. Finally some respite and things get easier on the last 500 meters. Gleefully reach the swim exit and have two happy volunteers help me off with my wet suit which is a novelty. Onto the bike asap and have a slight disaster at the bike mount line as I knock one of my spare drinks bottles out of the nutrition holder and its lost. Off we go- there are plenty of aid stations on the course.
There is some rutted and pot holed road surface to negotiate on the run out to the hill. Then you hit the long steep 5 km climb. Decided on coach’s advice not to blow the legs on the hill and let all the fast younger men shoot past me on the bike. In hindsight I could have pushed on a bit harder here. Reached to top and onto the rolling hills, it’s fast in places with some smaller hills thrown in. Glorious day, sun out, blue skies, racing through the Georgia countryside. After the up hill comes the long down hill and I am no hero here and lots of people shoot past me. Happy to reach the bottom in one piece. Push onto the second half of the course which has a lot of down hills and is really quick. Had a narrow escape while trying to refill my drinking bottle as I found myself hurtling down hill on the grass verge. Heart in your mouth job just waiting for that moment when your feet disconnect with the pedals and you fly through the air and just hope that that you land and do not break anything. That would have been race over. But God was with me, as I have never seen so many churches in such a short space of time, and my bike wheels reconnected with the tarmac with me still in the saddle. Just further down that down hill I saw somebody poleaxed on the floor with blood streaming from his helmet. Fortunately there were plenty of helpers around. Back into town and really pushing hard on the pedals. Had to dodge a couple of tractors which got in the way but overall rode strong on the back side of the race course.
As a funny aside on Friday I did an extra bit of bike course reccy and parked up on the road side to get the bike ready. Before setting off I needed a pee and the only place that was secluded was a tree in the far corner of a small church car park. Now it was well away from the church and it was far nearer the road than the church steps. Anyway having started my pee ,there was a shout of horror from the house across the road, as some bible basher took exception to me using this tree and there followed a stream of invective directed my way – I couldn’t make it all out over the sound of the barking dog but “Vermin” was used a few times!! I quickly pedaled off, not quite finishing my pee.
Back to the race. Coach’s instructions to build into the run and finish the last 5 k strong. Started off smooth but this course was hilly. A beautiful run across the river four times and through some lovely shaded areas. Ate bananas and drank coke at every aid station. The on the ground support from the local population was amazing with some wonderful signs of encouragement to help you carry tired legs to the finish. “Smile if you have peed yourself ”; “don’t pooh in your pants” and my favourite held up by a young woman “I don’t do triathlons ; I do triathletes”. It’s a great feeling to run down that finish chute, onto the red carpet, and hear your name as you cross the line. The Finish Line drug!
5 hours and 40 minutes- 15 minutes short of a good time but I would take that on the day given the course and being short of run fitness. Well done to my coaching team.
